What Happens When Street Art Meets Fine Art

Photo Courtesy JMR

The Dallas Contemporary is shining a bit brighter today. With the recent mural installation by local Artist James M Rizzi, or JMR, a once drab side wall in the Dallas Design District is no longer–now it's decked out in bold, vibrant colors and painted textures. JMR's process was astonishingly similar to that of your everyday graffiti artist, slowly and meticulously layering the exterior of a building with spray paint, rollers and brushes in a process that took about twelve Artists to complete. The only difference? It was entirely legal, and in fact commissioned by  The Observer in collaboration with the Dallas Contemporary for their annual Artopia event.

"The name of this mural is "Bridging the Gap". The reason its named this is the following: Its an accomplishment to go from painting walls that are illegal or under overpasses, in abandoned buildings, and other frontier lands. To then paint the side of a major art institution. Its important for me to remember my source. How I got here. And where I may be going," says Rizzi.

This idea harkens back to a long history of artists who use a term called ‘ready-mades‘ in their practice. From MOMA:

“Ready-mades originated from Marcel Duchamp, who borrowed the term from the clothing industry while living in New York. ‘In its strictest sense, [the term] is applied… to the product of an aesthetically provocative act, one that denied the importance of taste and which questioned the meaning of art itself.’”

This means, of course, that graffiti (whether identified as commissioned murals, street art or public art) does indeed qualify as fine art. So why isn’t it regarded as such?

I am a huge fan of fellow native Brooklynite JMR's art, here's a pic of him below.  His art is a living, breathing representation of who he is and what he represents. Visit his Website and go check out his wall at The Dallas Contemporary and his work all over town.

Tags: #jamesmrizzi, #JMR, #graffiti, #street art, #street art, #dallas contemporary, #Dallas Design District, #Artopia, #Dallas Observer, #dallas Artists